1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a stab-resistant material made from at least two woven fabrics joined by using a polymer film, a stab-resistant package, and use of the stab-resistant package in making protective clothing.
2. Description of Related Art
A stab-resistant material is known from WO 97/21334, wherein the polymer film used in the material has a flexural modulus of 42 to 1000 MPa. From the examples of WO 97/21334, it is clear that 38 to 45 layers of the stab-resistant material are required to provide stab protection that the specification considers to be sufficient.
The evaluation of the stab-resistant quality in WO 97/21334 is performed in accordance with CEN/TC 162/WG 5 N 479. According to this standard, two different knives are to be used, and the penetration of each knife up to 20 mm is regarded as sufficient stab protection. WO 97/21334 teaches the use of 38 to 45 layers of its stab-resistant material to be sufficiently stab-resistant. The use of 38 to 45 layers of the stab resistant material in WO 97/21334 results in reduced wearing comfort since the large number of layers makes the clothing both very heavy and stiff to the wearer.
As described above, there is still a need for stab-resistant material that offers improved wearing comfort and improved effectiveness.
It is an aspect of the present invention to provide a stab-resistant material that provides sufficient stab protection.
It is a further aspect of the present invention to provide a stab-resistant material to be used in the manufacture of protective clothing that is less heavy and stiff, and offers improved wearing comfort.
These and other aspects of the present invention are achieved herein.
According to the present invention, a stab-resistant material made from at least two woven fabrics which are joined using a polymer film, wherein the fabrics are made from yarns with a tensile strength of at least 900 MPa and the polymer film joining the fabrics has a tensile strength of at least 10 MPa, exhibits improved effectiveness when the polymer film has a flexural modulus of 1500 to 4500 MPa.